Hundreds of senior citizens in Marikina City underwent assessment and validation procedures for the social pension program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development on Monday, April 24, and Tuesday, April 25.
The activity held on April 24 at the Marikina Sports Center (MSC) was attended by seniors from Barangays San Roque, Kalumpang and Sta. Elena. Residents from Barangays Barangka, Industrial Valley Complex (IVC), Tañong and Jesus De La Peña proceeded to the Teatro Marikina.
On April 25, the program was held at both the MSC and the Marikina Convention Center for seniors from Barangays Sto. Niño and Malanday, respectively.
(Marikina PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
It was led by enumerators, encoders, and area supervisors from the DSWD, guided by officers from the Marikina City local government.
Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro and his wife, District 1 Congreswoman Marjorie Ann “Maan” Teodoro, visited the assessment venues to ensure that the event is organized, and the assessment processes are going smoothly and swiftly. They also took the opportunity to interact with their elderly constituents.
Through the DSWD’s social pension program, enshrined in Republic Act (RA) No. 9994 or the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010,” qualified indigent senior citizens receive a stipend amounting to P500 on a monthly basis.
The program aims to ease the circumstances of beneficiaries by providing finances for their daily subsistence and medical needs.
(Marikina PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Validations and assessments are done in order to check the seniors’ qualifications and overall eligibility to the program.
According to RA No. 9994, eligible senior citizens aged 60 and above can be those who are considered “frail, sickly, or with disability;” and receive no pension from government or private institutions such as the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), or the Armed Forces and Police Mutual Benefit Association Inc. They must also neither have a permanent source of income, nor get support from family or relatives.
After the assessment and validation, the qualified senior citizens will be informed of the schedule for the social pension payout that is distributed every six months annually.
They are urged to coordinate with the city’s Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) regarding the payout schedules and other information on the social pension.
The local government said more validation and assessment activities for seniors from other barangays in Marikina will be held in the coming days.